Discussion Topic
Evaluating the Effectiveness and Purpose of the Ending in John Wyndham's The Chrysalids
Summary:
The ending of The Chrysalids serves to highlight the themes of evolution and the acceptance of differences. It effectively ties up the story by showing that the Sealanders represent a more advanced and tolerant society, contrasting sharply with Waknuk's rigid intolerance. This conclusion reinforces the novel’s message about the dangers of bigotry and the necessity for change and acceptance in a progressing world.
How effective is the ending of The Chrysalids by John Wyndham?
Wyndham's whole intention is to illustrate his belief that humanity must relinquish preconceived notions and look beyond their ideologies to find solutions to the problems of humanity and society and culture that he perceived as something that continually bubble up, so to speak, and that humanity has to find ever changing and creative ways of solving. With this in mind, the ending of the novel is precisely as effective as Wyndham wanted it to be in that he illustrated expansion beyond the confines of ideological thought and presented as the solution to a new set of cultural and social problems.
What is Wyndham trying to achieve with the ending of The Chrysalids? Do you find the ending to be off as well?
One part of Wyndham's philosophy (roughly stated) was that humanity's every effort to rise above a problem and create a solution leads to another problem needing a solution. He believes this is because humanity relies too much upon reason (logic, reasonableness) and that creative solutions to serious problems require new...
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modes of thought outside of existing paradigms of thought--in other words, the abandonment of logic. The ending ofThe Chrysalids reflects this belief: The Zealanders have a solution to accommodating mutations, but it is a solution still within the old paradigm of logic and will therefore embody new problems in the making--problems leading to further destruction of other humans.